Permanent residents who have lost their status and been ordered to leave Canada on the basis or criminality or misrepresentation can appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division within 30 days.
Permanent residents of Canada can receive removal orders for certain kinds of immigration violations.
The most common are having been convicted of a serious criminal offence in Canada or elsewhere, or having been found guilty of misrepresentation.
Once issued a removal order, a permanent resident may appeal the decision to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) within 30 days.
Process of making a removal order appeal
A removal order against a permanent resident is usually made after a hearing before the Immigration Division where the Division has decided that the appellant is inadmissible to Canada, and they are issued a removal order asking them to leave Canada.
In this situation the permanent resident may appeal the decision to the Immigration Appeal Division. This appeal is commenced by filing a Notice of Appeal to the IAD within 30 days of the removal order decision being received.
After the appeal has been received, the immigration authorities will produce the tribunal record. The record will contain documentation to explain why a removal order was issued in the appellant’s case, usually including the documents that were before the Immigration Division and any transcript of the hearing before the Immigration Division.
The appellant will also have an opportunity to present any new evidence to the IAD that they wish to adduce to support their appeal.
The removal order appeal process
In each case the IAD will schedule a hearing where the appellant will have an opportunity to testify, to call witnesses, and to present new evidence on their behalf. They may be represented by a consultant for this purpose. At the hearing the immigration authorities will be represented by their own lawyer, called a Minister’s Representative, who will typically be opposed to the appeal and will lead their own evidence to try to have the appeal dismissed. A judge will preside over the hearing and will make the final determination in the case.
The appellant can generally challenge the removal order against them on two grounds, the first being the legality of the removal order and the second being humanitarian and compassionate grounds. With respect to legality, if the decision is incorrect in law or fact then it may be argued that the removal order was improperly issued. If this argument cannot be sustained, then an appellant can make their case on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, and explain the mitigating circumstances of their case. The IAD judge can allow the appeal on either ground. If the appeal is successful, the appellant will be allowed to keep their permanent residence, but in some cases may be subject to a stay of removal for one or more years. A stay of removal is similar to a probationary period. Once the stay period is successfully completed, then the appellant will fully resume their permanent residence.